A: When looking for garlic and onion powders, you want the kind that is a bit granulated, like a fine salt or sand — not powdery like a flour. This picture helps illustrate what I mean:

Q: Is it possible to download past meal plans, or is the current week only available?

A: The current week is the only meal plan available for purchase on the website, but you can order past meal plans directly from us. Contact lindsay(at)happyherbivore(dot)com for help.

Q: What is your monthly food budget?

When I was shopping for three adults (Scott, me, and my sister) I was spending around $90-110/week, depending on whether we needed to purchase bulk items, like flour, which has a big upfront cost, but then lasts for weeks and weeks. That's what I love about the meal plans — they save me so much money and time. Most people report spending only $30 a person on the plan if they have a stocked pantry. I did the family meal plan a few weeks ago (four people) and my entire grocery total was $127, including toilet paper, shampoo and dish detergent that were "extra."

Q: What do you recommend for skin care? I have acne.

A: As I learned with my skin, acne is often related to diet. Dairy is the biggest trigger (for most people, myself included). So make sure you're totally off dairy. Next, oil. Make sure you're not eating or cooking with oils. Once I removed oil from my diet, my skin cleared beautifully. Some (few) people can get acne from other foods, like wheat or soy, so if you've removed oil and dairy, and otherwise cleaned up your diet but acne persists, try eliminating soy or wheat and see if it changes your skin. Also, try washing your face with baking soda for acne treatment. It's one of the best kept beauty secrets. Lastly, see this vegan skincare post by a professional (vegan!) makeup artist.

Q: Is white wine vinegar vegan?

If you're asking for an ethical/animal rights perspective, I think that would turn on what type of white wine was used to make the vinegar (you'll probably need to call the manufacturer). If the white wine was vegan, then yes. If the white was was not, then no. On the up side, white wine tends to be vegan more often than red wine. (These same issues would apply to red wine vinegar). If you're not a vegan for moral or ethical reasons and are just plant-based, then white wine vinegar and red wine vinegar are suitable. For more information on wine not being vegan, see this post.

Lindsay S. Nixon

Hi I'm Lindsay also known as the Happy Herbivore.I've dedicated myself helping folks lose weight on a vegan diet. I been blogging since 2006, written 6 books, and started a business called Meal Mentor.